The Chicago Police Department is looking to train all 12,500 of its officers in about a year on "de-escalation" tactics aimed at reducing the number of fatal confrontations it, and other police departments, see everyday, the Chicago Tribune found during its in-depth look at the program.

It joins a roster of other cities that have done the same: Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Seattle have rolled out similar initiatives.

When we can reduce the risk of taking a life even if it's a bad guy, we should.

Sgt. Larry Snelling to the Chicago Tribune

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced the training in December 2015, and it finally has the 15 instructors (all longtime cops) it needs to roll out the program.

There will be classes six days a week on topics like "Force Mitigation: Mental Health Awareness," how officers should assess and respond to confrontations and drills that test the officers' reactions and judgments.

The point of the training is not that deadly force should never be used.

"When you are faced with an immediate threat and your life or someone else's life is on the line ... you should respond with deadly force. You have to," said Sgt. Larry Snelling to the Chicago Tribune.

The training comes after a contentious couple of years for the Chicago Police Department. In 2014, the fatal shooting by a Chicago police officer of Laquan McDonald made international headlines. McDonald was shot 16 times.

This gave root to several protests in Chicago and throughout the nation and even prompted an investigation by the U.S. Justice Department into whether there's a pattern of excessive force by the Chicago Police Department on its citizens.